" [...] just in case you thought the kitchen was exclusively about old-school bistro cooking, consider the quail on a summer menu: the breasts treated to the flavours of bulgogi, the little legs Korean-fried —all bits nestled on a fiery slaw of green apples and kimchi. A clementine gel was a balm for the heat, while a shower of edible flowers and licorice mint prettied up the brown bird."

After these two fine dinners, please don’t ask me to rule on which I prefer — Monday fondues, which should continue for the next few months, or à la carte. That’s a delicious dilemma, one that makes Absinthe well worth double-dipping.Ottawa Citizen

Absinthe Café has a well-deserved reputation for its die-hard loyalty to local farmers, since opening its doors in 2003. It’s one of the first few restaurants that sought to partner with local farmers. Using their home grown ingredients to create sophisticated, modern organic dishes.Around Town: Absinthe Café

"A bastion of fine gourmet cuisine in the heart of the nation's capital, the restaurant boasts a trendy ambiance and slick decor complete with leather chairs, wooden tables and giant mirrors make for the perfect evening out on the town. A funky bistro, this popular eatery draws heavily on French influences for both its menu and sultry-chic atmosphere."Absinthe, Living up to It's Name

"Absinthe enjoys a deserved reputation for creative, well-executed cuisine. This is the type of place that proudly proclaims the names of its chefs (and suppliers) on the menu. Service is friendly and unfussy, and the atmosphere is pleasantly hushed. The focus seems squarely on the food."Guilty Pleasures

There is a curious spoon, flat, slotted and with a pointy end, that is the insignia of this Holland Avenue restaurant. It is the utensil used in the rituals involved in drinking absinthe, a biting brew, potent and, for some, mystical, said to have provided inspiration to all manner of poets and playwrights, actors and artists particularly famous in fin de siecle Paris. You can sample it in varying strengths, strong and straight up, or mixed in a martini. A little phyllo triangle, butter basted, baked to golden, and containing goat cheese and shreds of duck confit is the yummy amuse while you weigh your eating and drinking options. Absinthe at lunch seems a comfortable enough, retro brown-black-orange room, and with the noon action on Holland Avenue very much part of the view. But at night the 40-seat dining room becomes moodier, the long, tall space made longer with mirrors, and inviting with clever lighting and affable service. Candles everywhere further the cosy feel, and the music is at the right volume. And just when you are beginning to feel the chill of a wintry evening seeping through the drafty wall of windows, on comes a chugging blast of hot air from the hard-working furnace. Or you could use soup to keep warm: a sweet, thick puree of roasted squash dotted with soft chunks of caramelized pear; or a piping hot potato and leek, its surface speckled with chives. Apricots and pistachios add sweetness and texture to a meaty venison terrine, furnished with a little celery root remoulade, set on Boston lettuce. If you like your Caesar pungent and fishy, you'll like Absinthe's version. An abundance of freshly grated parmesan caps the leaves. At lunch, the Nicoise salad features salmon rather then tuna (handsomely grilled) on a bed of Nicoise standards -- beans, eggs, olives, tomato, cucumber and potatoes. The lads I took to lunch had steak, as did everyone, it would seem, around them -- nicely cooked, well flavoured, tarragon scented and served with excellent fries. The steak comes either straight up or in a dandy sandwich, on grilled, house-made herbed bread, layered up with well-caramelised onion, soft and sweet. Herbs and greens are put to use in this kitchen. Chunks of soft salmon in a peppery cream sauce are laced with long shreds of green bean, asparagus and leek and supplied with a well peppered crepe. Basil perfumes a stew of chickpeas, tomatoes, roasted red pepper and leeks, rich and spicy and cuddled up to thick slices of perfectly pale-pink pork tenderloin, rubbed hard with jerk-like spices that pack a yummy punch. Mahi mahi is wrapped in pecans and baked softly, accompanied by spinach and asparagus. Duck is excellent, sliced in ruby fingers and fanned on the plate. The food is in the good company of a fine wine list (kindly priced) and some satisfying desserts, like a gooey chocolate cake and profiteroles with house-made ice creams, best when the puffs are very fresh (still warm from the oven at dinner, but a bit past their prime at lunch.)